A Guardian's Power
by alijoe13
Summary: After being shot down by Dooku, an injured Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-wan seek refuge with the planet's inhabitants. Soon though, they discover that Dooku is after the natives' very powerful leader, who's identity is a mystery the group scrambles to uncover.
1. Chapter 1

_Phewm phewm. BOOM! _The small ship shook with the force of the explosion.

"We lost the rear engines, General!"

Anakin clenched the navigation controls and gritted his teeth at his Captain's words. "Do we still have thrusters?" he shouted, twisting to the side to direct his words at Obi-wan.

"They're only at seventy percent power!" the Jedi master called back urgently.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin yelled louder. "I need the hyperdrive!"

Even above the roaring of the dying engines and the piercing sound of the blaster fire that lit up the surrounding space with red light, Anakin could hear his Padawan scoff. "What good is it going to do you at this point?" she shouted, her voice somewhat muted from below the deck. "Without the engines, it won't take us anywhere!"

"Then work on the engines!"

A short, slightly muffled explosion sounded from behind Anakin and he heard Ahsoka coughing. He turned around in time to see her raise up out of the square hole in the floor, where she'd been attempting to make repairs. A flood of black smoke smothered the air around her and she leaned out of the cloud, her face and shoulders coated with black ash. "Work on the engines," she choked out as she yanked her goggles off her face. The eye protectors left a ring of clean skin around her eyes. "What a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

A flash of light caught his eye and Anakin jerked the ship into a tight roll.

All of Anakin's passengers moaned simultaneously and Ahsoka, being the only one not strapped in, fell out of her crevice, slid across the deck, and rammed into the back of Anakin's chair.

"Oof! A little warning would have been nice!"

Anakin grinned, any concern he might've felt evaporating with her words. "Just trying to keep you on your toes, Snips!"

A sudden shift in the Force warned Anakin that enemy missiles were about to be hot on their tail. _Ugh,_ he growled to himself. _This is a mess!_

What had started out as a simple reconnaissance mission had suddenly swerved into danger in a way that only Anakin ever seemed to experience. They'd been on their way to the Destreg system with Master Luminara when they received a call that a Jedi required pick up from a nearby planet. Upon hearing that the Jedi was his old Master – Obi-wan – Anakin opted to take a small shuttle to pick him up. Naturally, he volunteered Rex and Ahsoka to come along as well.

However, what the Jedi Council apparently didn't deem important enough to tell Anakin but Obi-wan later informed him after he and Commander Cody were on board was that Obi-wan had been following up on an odd tip that had unintentionally led him to Dooku.

Apparently, both sides had been caught off guard by each other and, while Obi-wan had been checking out the tip, Dooku had attacked the Jedi's waiting ship. To bring a long story to conclusion, Obi-wan's cruiser took heavy damage and had been left with no other choice but to flee and pray that Obi-wan would not be found on the planet's surface. Their prayers did not go unanswered and Obi-wan and Cody remained safely undiscovered.

However, when Anakin and Company arrived and were leaving with the pair, Dooku's ship very rudely announced that it hadn't pursued Obi-wan's ship and attacked their small shuttle.

And they were currently winning.

Another explosion shook their ship and one of the missiles managed to clip the side of the craft.

As yet another alarm started to blare – oh, how Anakin hated alarms – Ahsoka half-dove, half-fell against one of the computers and brought up the alarm's source.

"Master! There's a breach in the outer hull! We're losing air pressure!"

Cody leaped up from the co-pilot's seat and lunged out of Anakin's vision, headed somewhere unknown to Anakin. Ahsoka quickly took the Commander's place.

"We need to land right now," Anakin said, leaning forward.

Ahsoka searched through their computer's database for nearby planets. "There. Arbra," she said placing a finger on the screen in front of her.

Anakin yanked on the controls to avoid another missile that barreled down on them.

"What do we know about it?" Obi-wan asked as he came up behind them. He rested his hands on the backs of their chairs to brace himself against the jerking ship.

"Well, it's close and we're losing air pressure because we're being attacked by Count Dooku," Ahsoka said wryly.

"Good enough for me," Anakin said. "Where is it?"

Ahsoka pointed out the front window at a dot of blue and green to their right.

"I don't particularly fancy the idea of landing on a planet we know nothing about," Obi-wan stated. "But it seems to be our only option."

"Yeah, something tells me you'd _fancy _dying at Dooku's hand even less," Anakin snorted. He drove the ship faster and the entire thing started shaking with the force of their speed, as if it was about to suddenly break apart.

Obi-wan clenched harder to the backs of the chairs. "Just don't let me die at yours, Anakin," he warned.

"According to this," Ahsoka piped in. "Arbra is uninhabited, so at least we don't have to worry about crashing on a Separatist planet."

"It could be Korriban, for all I care," Anakin said, referring to the home world of the Sith. "It's a planet and we're in trouble."

As the ship made its shaky but swift way towards Arbra, Ahsoka rushed to the back of the ship where, Anakin learned, Commander Cody was attempting to patch the ship's hull breach, or at least slow the air escape. They didn't seem to be making much progress, for the needle that monitored their air pressure continued to drop.

Anakin whipped the shuttle into another spin and realized right away that that was a mistake. One of the flaming side extensions of the ship broke off and sent them off balance. "Oh, poodoo."

They twisted out of control as one big blazing mess towards the planet.

Cody and Ahsoka came charging back onto the bridge.

"The Count's ship is pulling off his attack!" Ahsoka shouted as she dashed for her seat and immediately strapped in. Cody and Obi-wan rushed to follow suit.

Anakin scoffed. "Of course he is! I think it's safe to say it was effective!"

As soon as they hit the planet's atmosphere, any part of the ship that wasn't on fire a moment ago was now and they barreled in all their flaming glory towards the surface.

Anakin realized too late that the mountains they were headed for were taller than they had first looked. He jerked on the controls, but they had no affect at this point and the bottom of the shuttle rammed the peak.

The power of the blow knocked Anakin's body forward. His head slammed against the control panel with hard enough force that he never felt the pain of the ship's crash into the field on the other side of the mountains.

* * *

><p>A pair of small figures watched from the shadows of the trees as, less than a league away, the strange flaming craft plummeted from the sky and shook the ground with its impact. A ring of thick grey smoke that rose from the soil around the crash site obscured the ship from their view.<p>

"There can't have been any survivors," one of them asked. However, she shifted her position on the limb in which she perched and threw back the hood of her dark cloak; a movement her companion recognized as uneasiness.

Said companion did not throw back her hood, but instead kept her eyes trained on the smoke. She squatted comfortably on the branch beside her friend, her balance perfect. "Even so, we'll wait for the dust to settle and the fire to cool, and then send an assemblage out before nightfall."

The one without her hood nodded. "It should be easy enough to frighten away a few injured travelers."

"True. Though, you'll do nothing without first receiving permission, understood?" the hooded one said sharply.

She received a nod in response. "Of course."

"Good. Alert Gaylen of our findings. He will know what to do."

As the one figure drop from the tree, the hooded one moved her gaze back to the smoky field and sat still as a sculpture, watching the ship with probing eyes that searched for any signs of life.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello everyone! Been a while since I've posted and I'm glad to be back in the game! ;) Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Love some feedback! :D Thanks for reading!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Even before he opened his eyes, Anakin knew he had no intention of getting out of bed. He felt sick, stiff, and sore all over. He twisted his body, trying to roll into a move comfortable position, and a stab of fiery pain shot through his left shoulder and down his spine. A pained groan surged from his mouth before he could even manage a thought.

Anakin opened his eyes slowly, fighting with his heavy lids. Nothing but dark shadows greeted his vision; he couldn't even make out the outline of his quarters, so it must be the middle of the night. Being careful not to move his aching body any more than necessary–he couldn't fathom why he hurt so badly –he took in a slow breath. His mind was so foggy that he couldn't remember what battle he'd been in, but he must have just come from a long one.

He closed his eyes again, grateful for the darkness and the hours that it meant he still had to sleep.

XXX

Anakin didn't know if actually fell asleep but, a little while later, he slowly became aware of whispering voices. His hazy mind took note that his pain wasn't so sharp now, but he felt cold.

Coughs and groans mixed in with the voices and Anakin eventually recognized Ahsoka's voice among the sounds. He wasn't sure why she had other people in their room, but he wished they would be quiet. He picked up his right arm to lay it over his face and his opposite shoulder shrieked in pain from the movement. He suddenly heard Ahsoka saying his name, but he had no desire to respond. She would come get him if she wanted him.

* * *

><p>Ahsoka woke up and found herself lying against a control board in their destroyed ship. The only illumination came from a couple warning lights that flashed red light throughout the room and pained her already pounding head. She groaned softly as she pushed up off the panel and reached down to release the buckles of her seat's safety straps. As she did, she slipped off her chair and fell to the side, onto the floor. She looked down to examine herself.<p>

The straps that had kept her in her seat had pulled so hard against body that she both saw and felt the bruises along her collar bone. A nearby window had shattered when they crashed and sent the glass showering over her, littering shallow cuts all over her exposed flesh. She also had a few burns on her right shoulder and down her arm, but otherwise, she seemed to have escaped severe injury.

Ahsoka slowly sat up and rolled her sore neck and shoulders before glancing around the ship.

The first thing she noticed was that the ship was an absolute wreck. Windows were smashed, control panels and circuit boards were scorched and ruined, and the navigation computer was completely fried. Durasteel debris was scattered around the room in large awkwardly- shaped heaps that were difficult to see around. Computers spewed sparks and a couple of them were still glowing red hot from fires that had burned themselves out.

On top of all that, the bottom of the ship had buckled upward resulting in an enormous bulge in the center of the floor and another one at the nose of the ship.

Ahsoka looked out what was left of the front window and was surprised to see darkness. It couldn't have been any later than early afternoon when they had gone down. Had they all been out that long? However, a closer inspection of the window revealed that it was not a dark sky that Ahsoka was seeing, but a dark ground. The ship had apparently crashed so hard that the entire front section of the ship had become embedded in the hard soil.

All of this Ahsoka noticed as she searched for the others, who all appeared to be regaining consciousness about the same time as her. The oddity of this momentarily distracted her and she wondered if they had sensed something in their sleep that had aroused them. But Cody and Rex weren't force sensitive, so she didn't focus on it for long.

Across the deck, Obi-wan was just getting shakily to his feet. His robes were ripped and he was holding his arm at an awkward angle, but other than a couple of burns, he seemed to be all right.

To Ahsoka's right, Rex was shoving some unidentifiable piece of equipment off his back. He dusted himself off and seeing Ahsoka, headed towards her. His armor, though scorched and scratched, had protected him from any serious injuries and he seemed relatively unscathed as he got to his feet. Like Ahsoka, he had a few cuts sprinkled across his face, but they didn't appear deep. Cody, who was likewise pushing wreckage out of his way to get to Obi-wan, was in similar condition.

Rex squatted down next to Ahsoka and gently grasped her arm. "Are you okay, Commander?" he asked in a deep, firm voice.

"I think so," Ahsoka replied as Rex pulled her to her feet. Neither of her legs were injured, so she could stand and walk on her own; a fact that she was extremely thankful for.

Cody had reached Obi-wan by now and Ahsoka heard them discussing what sounded like Obi-wan's dislocated shoulder in soft voices.

"Where's Anakin?" Ahsoka asked as she rubbed a knot on her forehead.

"I don't know," Rex told her as he also glanced around the room. "He's probably hidden by the debris. I woke up to a chair on my face." His voice had turned wry by the end.

Suddenly, the ship creaked and groaned and everyone froze as they heard something collapse overhead.

"Either way, we need to find him quick," Rex said. "This place isn't stable."

"Master?" Ahsoka called, but her throat was dry and her voice caught and had little volume to it. She didn't get a reply anyway.

Slowly, Ahsoka stumbled her way over the torn pieces of durasteel that had scattered about the bridge and headed for the front control board.

After getting around a few large, jagged pieces of scrap and pushing aside a few more, she caught sight of Anakin slumped on his back between a twisted metal panel and the pilot's chair, his arm thrown over his face. His safety belt looked like it had snapped, probably when they crashed, and hadn't been any help.

"I found him," Ahsoka called, for the others' sakes. "Master?" she said, getting on one knee beside him –which was not even remotely comfortable right now. "Master, can you hear me?" When she still received no response, she pulled at the arm that covered his face. "Anakin?"

Eventually, Anakin groaned and waved her hand away. "Go away," he murmured so softly that Ahsoka couldn't be sure that she heard him right.

"Master," she said, releasing his arm. "We have to get out of here."

Anakin shifted a bit and grunted in pain. "What's wrong, Snips? I'm tired." He didn't seem entirely coherent.

"Master, rest later! We need to get off the ship before it comes down on us. It's not safe here!"

"Ship?" Anakin mumbled as he pulled his arm away, revealing his face. There was a gash just below his hairline that had covered the left side of his forehead with dried blood. His eyes were red and unfocused, though as she stared, awareness starting to dawn on his face.

"We're still on the ship." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, we're still on the ship," Ahsoka confirmed.

Anakin glanced around himself with bleary eyes. "Are the others okay?"

Ahsoka nodded. "I think Master Kenobi hurt his arm, but Rex and Cody are fine."

"And you?"

Ahsoka glanced down at the slices on her skin, a few of which were still leaking red. "I'm okay too."

An odd grinding noise sounded behind her and she turned to see the others working to cut a path out of the ship. They worked slowly and gingerly, making sure not to cut or move anything that would cause the rest of the ship to give way on top of them.

She extended her hand and shifted her feet in preparation to help him up. "Come on, we gotta go."

However, as soon as Anakin gripped Ahsoka's hand and started pulling with her, he arched his back and gave a short yell of agony. "No, wait, wait, stop!" Whatever was causing his pain, it seemed to lend to shaking him further into alertness.

"What? What is it?" Ahsoka asked, concerned.

Anakin arched his back again and tried to reach under his shoulder, as if to grasp something. "Something's...something's stabbing into my back."

Ahsoka reached under Anakin's left shoulder, trying to be careful not to move him too much. She started moving the cloth of his robes out of the way, but didn't get very far before she noticed something damp against her fingers.

Quickly pulling her hand out, she angled her fingers at the light. Warm crimson liquid coated her hand and was soaking into her glove. "Oh force..." Ahsoka hadn't noticed until now that more wetness was beginning to seep out from under him. "He's hurt," she shouted, turning towards the others. "Someone come help me!"

While Rex climbed over the wreckage to assist, Ahsoka tried to work with Anakin to get him into a sitting position, but he wasn't being very cooperative. Ahsoka felt under his shoulder and found the piece of metal that was piercing into his back. It was twisted upward, at an angle so Anakin would have to lift himself upwards to get free from it; something he didn't currently appear to have the strength to do.

Upon reaching them, Rex bent down next to Ahsoka at the same time that he took in what he could see of Anakin's condition. "What do we need to do?"

Ahsoka moved behind Anakin's shoulders. "There's a piece of metal stabbing into his back. It's slanted upwards, so he needs to slide that way to get off of it."

Rex nodded and reached for Anakin. Laying one of the Jedi's arms across his shoulders, the Captain gripped Anakin around the chest and, with Ahsoka's guidance, pulled him free of the metal and hauled him a few feet away to a more level location.

As soon as Anakin moved away from it, Ahsoka glanced back at the sharp piece of metal and immediately wished that she hadn't. Shining almost black in the flashing red light, blood painted the protruding scrap and a portion of the surrounding area. _Could that all be _Anakin's_ blood?_ she thought with a deep and growing horror. _It can't be..._ she looked back at Anakin, who sat in a slightly hunched position by Rex. His back was also stained with blood that, now unhindered by the metal, flowed more rapidly from his wound.

Ahsoka quickly got to her feet and clapped her hands over the stab wound. "Did any of our medical supplies survive the crash?" she asked, the words rushing out in a torrent.

Rex glanced at the bulge in the center of the room. "The med deck is below us," he stated. "Even if there are undamaged supplies down there, there's no way for us to get to them." He put a hand to his belt. "I might have a few things on me that could at least slow the bleeding, but we need to get out into the light first."

Ahsoka tried to see how deep the wound was, but between the amount of bleeding and the lack of light, it was impossible to tell. "Then we need to get out now," she said matter-of-factly.

"Don't do anything too brash," Anakin muttered weakly as she got to her feet. "I'm fine."

"That means a lot coming from you," she shot back. She went over to where Obi-wan and Cody were working to dig their way out. "Anakin needs help," she told them when she reached them. "We need to get out as soon as possible."

"How bad is he?" Obi-wan asked in a low voice as he turned away from the debris pile in front of him.

Ahsoka shifted on her feet. "Not good," she responded, mirroring Obi-wan's tone. "He fell on a piece of metal when we crashed and it stabbed him in his shoulder. We couldn't see how deep it was, but he's acting really groggy, so I think he lost a lot of blood. We need to find help."

While Obi-wan nodded in agreement, Cody spoke up. "Unfortunately, we've got another problem here." He started to pull on a loose durasteel panel, only to release it when other pieces of wreckage began sliding along with it. "It looks like the deck behind us collapsed when we hit. It's going to take us a while to dig our way out."

"But Anakin needs help now!" Ahsoka insisted.

"Maybe we can cut our own exit," Obi-wan said thoughtfully. He turned to examine the nearby walls.

"I wouldn't recommend it, sir," Cody responded. "The integrity of the entire ship has been compromised. I wouldn't trust the whole thing not to come down on our heads."

Obi-wan raised his uninjured arm up to stroke his beard, as Ahsoka noticed he often did when he was deep in thought.

"But," Ahsoka said, thinking quickly. "Master Kenobi and I should be able to hold everything up long enough for you and Rex to get Anakin out. It'd be the same thing that happened once when he and Master Windu were trapped. Master Plo and I held the ship up while they were extracted." She looked to Obi-wan for support.

Obi-wan pondered the proposal for a moment before nodding. "I agree, Ahsoka. But you and Rex will have to move quickly, Cody. I doubt in our condition that we will be able to keep it up for long."

Cody nodded once in acknowledgment. "Sir."

Ahsoka went over to Rex to help him get Anakin on his feet. Anakin's legs weren't supporting him very well and he leaned heavily on the two of them. Ahsoka wondered if he had already lost consciousness again. "Hold on, Master," she whispered. "We're getting out of here." Then she moved out of the way so Cody could take her place.

Obi-wan drew his lightsaber with his left hand and moved around the small, crushed room for a moment until he found a place he that satisfied him. As soon as his weapon pierced the metal and began moving in a circle, the ship began to groan and shake again.

Drawing on the Force, Ahsoka lifted her hands into the air to hold the ship steady. As bits and pieces of wreckage worked loose and fell towards Obi-wan, Ahsoka caused them to stop midair or fall on either side on him.

Once Obi-wan's lightsaber was about halfway around, something could be heard snapping above them and the walls began to collapse in earnest. Ahsoka closed her eyes in concentration, willing the ship's innards back and away from the group. As the pressure increased, she began to feel the strain and hoped Obi-wan would assist her soon.

Ahsoka could guess when the circle was complete because she felt when Obi-wan's efforts joined her own. The stress eased a bit, even as the ship's support gave way. Over the metallic moaning of the ship, Ahsoka couldn't hear when Cody and Rex kicked out the hole Obi-wan had sliced, but she did hear the all-clear shout they gave once they were outside.

"Let's go!" Obi-wan shouted. He and Ahsoka gathered their strength and together, they gave one final heave against the wreckage. Just as it all came crashing down, they dove towards the exit.

Ahsoka landed hard on the unforgiving ground and her body rolled to a painful stop on the dry, scorched grass. She lay there for a moment, secretly pondering how a bed of burnt grass could be so comfortable.

A black gloved hand eventually reached down into her field of vision. Ahsoka gratefully took it and allowed Cody to pull her to her feet.

It was late afternoon now, almost sundown. There was a slight bite to the air that made Ahsoka wrapped her arms around herself as she took in her surroundings. They had crashed in a large field that sat beside an enormous mountain range. The field was completely green except for the ring of charred grass their ship had made. The mountains shot up into the fleecy lavender clouds and reflected the sunset's orange and purple light.

It was beautiful.

On the opposite side of the field, a deep green forest made up of massive trees sprawled on for at least three klicks.

"It looks like his leg may be broken too." Obi-wan's words drew Ahsoka's attention off the scenery and back to her injured master. Over to her left a few meters away, Obi-wan had knelt down next to him and was currently examining his leg.

Anakin's face was clenched in pain as Obi-wan moved his leg around. Eventually he clumsily smacked Obi-wan's hand away and muttered angry incoherents at the Jedi Master. Rex sat on his other side, Anakin's arm still across the Captain's shoulder.

Ahsoka was just about to join them when the creeping sense of danger came to her attention through the Force.

Obi-wan, apparently feeling the same thing, sat up a little straighter and looked her direction, exchanging a look of concern with her.

Anakin was murmuring something too low to catch and Rex leaned closer to listen. "He says 'something's coming.'" Rex looked to a spot near the ship. "From that direction."

Obi-wan got to his feet. "We feel it too. I'd say it's time we get moving."

"Over there." Rex indicated the direction that led to the forest. "We should be able to find shelter in the trees."

Cody drew a small hand blaster from his belt and dropped back with Ahsoka as Rex and Obi-wan assisted Anakin.

They'd made it only a few steps towards the forest when Ahsoka caught sight of shadowy figures slinking towards them from around the sides of their ship. She slowly took her lightsabers off her belt, but didn't activate them yet. "You might want to pick up the pace if you can," Ahsoka said conversationally, aiming her words to the men toting her master.

"We are doing our best," Obi-wan responded in the same tone.

The group slowly made their way away from the figures and for a moment, Ahsoka thought they weren't going to bother them.

She didn't actually see who fired the shot; her only alert was the sound. It kind of reminded her of Geonosian's blasters. The look of it did too; a black draping sight, almost like a shadow, coming towards her at the speed of droid fire.

Ahsoka rolled out the way just in time, igniting her lightsabers on the move as Cody returned fire.

"Stand down!" Ahsoka shouted at the figures, which she now realized weren't shadowy at all. They were cloaked; all of them covered in dark brown capes. The only thing shadowy about them were their faces, shrouded in darkness by the deep hoods that were draped over their heads. "We don't want to fight!"

More black shadows were fired at the group. Ahsoka swung her lightsaber to block them and it had the strangest effect on them. Instead of bouncing off the weapon, as she had expected, the lightsaber passed through the blackness, slicing it as if it were solid. Stranger still was that the two halves of the shadowy bolt dropped from the air and literally melted into the ground like black sludge. The sight intrigued Ahsoka so much that the follow up bolts very nearly hit her. She dodged to the side just in time.

Up ahead, Rex and Obi-wan had put some distance between her and Cody, but now they had slowed down to almost a halt. Not understanding this, Ahsoka threw a glance at the forest to see why. Her unasked question was quickly answered.

Just barely visible through the thick of the forest, Ahsoka noticed movement among the trees. Pretty soon, more figures cloaked in brown emerged from the thicket, cutting off the way to the safety of the woods.

Seeing their allies, those who had been pursuing them slowed their advance and began to spread out in a large circle that would prevent any escape in that direction.

As the group searched for a way out, the hooded individuals behind them raised their black weapons.

Seeing no other option, Ahsoka raised her lightsabers as well. There was nothing else to do. They were trapped.

* * *

><p><strong>O.O <strong>**Oooh, did I just leave another cliffhanger? I believe I did. :D**

**Haha, sorry! But this chapter just kept going and going and going and I had to cut it off somewhere! Otherwise I would raise y'alls expectations of me WAY too high. lol I mean, just imagine if you guys started expecting 3000+ updates out of me every time! That would just be terrible! What awful disappointment for you all! Hehe ;D **

**Anyways, thanks to SparkleWolf, StarWarsRocksMySocks, PenAndInkPrincess, WrittenInTheStars, Mo Angel, and Fallon for your reviews! You all are awesome! :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Ahsoka dropped into a fighting stance. Watching their opponents carefully, she slowly stole backwards to be closer to her master, who now sat hunched over on the ground with Rex and Obi-wan by his side. The only fighting he was capable of would be to stay conscious. With him out of commission and Obi-wan unable to use one arm, Ahsoka wasn't sure how they were going to get out of this. Near her side a few steps away, Cody readjusted his grip and drilled the others with a hard stare.

One of the cloaked beings that had emerged from the forest took a couple of steps forward to be just ahead of the others. Combined with the descending darkness, the hooded cloak made it difficult to see any features on the person itself, but the shape was very distinctly feminine.

As the woman walked out, all the beings that surrounded the small group of Jedi and clones tightened their grip on their raised weapons, making ready to shoot at the first signal. This signal was not slow in coming, for as soon as the weapons were aimed, the hooded woman halted where she stood and raised her arm.

Every person in the clearing snapped into movement in response.

The surrounding hooded figures shot their strange blasters at the group. Black shadows came at them from nearly every direction, overrunning each other and travelling at varying speeds, quick as black lightning.

The hooded beings near the forest shot too, and before this moment, Ahsoka hadn't realized that there was a difference in their weaponry. She was shocked by what she saw.

The forest people didn't shoot black weapons at all. They shot old fashioned bows and arrows, much like Ahsoka had seen from more primitive alien tribes; except these arrows were anything but primitive. Though they appeared normal at first sight, as soon as they were fired, the arrows flashed with light and seemed to transform into golden lightning as they flew.

Wondering in the back of her mind how the lightning would react with the lightsaber, Ahsoka swept her weapon upward when she received another surprise. The gold light-arrows flew passed her and collided with the black shadows that were coming at the group from behind. The shadow bolts dissipated as soon as they touched the arrows.

Four archers pulled away from the forest line and approached the group, shooting arrows at the attackers all the while. Once they were within earshot, the figure closest to them looked the Jedi's way. As he faced them, he turned into the remaining sliver of sun, revealing the face of a middle-aged human man.

"Fall to the forest!" the man shouted to them in a deep, commanding voice. He paused his shooting long enough to point to the woman that had stepped out from the cover of trees. She was waving urgently at the group. "Follow her!"

Ahsoka looked at Obi-wan, unsure whether they should listen. The Jedi Master didn't seem any more certain that she was, but it was obvious that right now they were severely lacking in other options.

As Obi-wan and Rex hauled Anakin back to his feet and started for the forest, Ahsoka and Cody moved behind them to cover their backs. It was a pointless gesture, as the assailants had begun scattering the moment the cloaked forest dwellers started returning fire. The remaining ones were being driven off by the attacking archers.

The woman disappeared into the forest's lengthening shadows before Obi-wan and Rex made it to the forest edge with Anakin. The surrounding forest dwellers closed ranks behind the group, leaving them with little choice but to follow. Deactivating her lightsabers but keeping one in hand, Ahsoka edged a bit closer to Obi-wan as they moved through to forest.

They hadn't gone very far when, at seemingly no particular signal, they came to a stop.

Almost immediately, the cloaked woman came walking towards them out of a clump of trees, appearing as suddenly as she had vanished. She walked to the group and shook her hood away from her face. It was too dark to see her face clearly, but Ahsoka could tell that she was a human woman.

One of the guards to Ahsoka's left spoke up, saying something to the woman in a strange language that Ahsoka didn't even recognize, much less understand. The woman, who was gazing at the group thoughtfully, responded in kind.

"What are they saying?" Ahsoka whispered to Obi-wan. Anakin had once mentioned that Obi-wan was fluent in several languages and knew bits and pieces of several more.

Obi-wan seemed to be listening intently to the exchange, but shook his head. "I have no idea. I've never heard this dialect before; or even anything close to it."

"That's all right," a mildly accented voice said. "I have heard yours." The young woman took a few steps closer to them, coming into a more appropriate distance for conversation. "I'm sorry for not addressing you first, but I had to be sure you were not a threat to us. Your actions in the clearing were a little debatable."

Both Jedi glanced at each other in surprise. To Ahsoka's extreme appreciation, Obi-wan stepped away from Anakin and spoke up. "You have our apologies," he began slowly. "We were attacked at our ship by cloaked individuals, who then chased us to your forest. We mistook you for more of them."

"Many do. It's an understandable error and the only reason you've been allowed in this far." The woman crossed her arms. "You were attacked by a tribe we call the _Cor'akas_. In your language, you'd call them the Imitators. They are a... twisted form of our own tribe. But it matters little; they won't come into our territory, so you have nothing to fear for now."

Obi-wan bowed slightly. "Then we thank you for your help and hospitality. I am Obi-wan Kenobi."

The woman nodded in acknowledgment. "I am Taliah, lead guard of this region. But don't thank me yet," she warned. "I cannot allow you to stay here for any extended length of time. I will have my warriors push the _Cor'takas_ back to their territory and away from your ship–I assume that it _is _your ship – and I will gladly allow you to take shelter here until then. However after that, you must leave both our forest and this planet."

"I'm afraid our ship isn't going to be of any use to us now. It was completely destroyed in the crash," Obi-wan stated solemnly. Then he gestured at Anakin, who was sinking slower again in Rex's grip. "Also, our friend here was injured very severely in the crash. He needs medical attention."

Taliah raked her gaze over Anakin for a long moment. "I'm sorry..." she said at length. "I feel for your predicament, but to allow you to stay could compromise my people's safety. I can protect you from our enemies, but that's all I can do."

Ahsoka shook her head as the woman spoke. "But..." she began, taking a step towards her. She forgot she was still holding her lightsaber and the warriors must've taken it as a sign of aggression, because as Ahsoka stepped, one that had been standing just behind Taliah moved up to her side. This one was also a woman and smaller than the others, a few inches shorter than Taliah, but the Padawan had no desire to alarm them, so she stopped where she was. "Please," she said. "Our friend needs help. We don't have the right medical supplies and he won't make it if you don't help us."

While Ahsoka was speaking, the warrior gave Taliah's cloak a sharp tug and whispered in her ear.

Taliah inclined her head and listened without a word. When she pulled away, she threw a thoughtful glance at the warrior before sighing and nodding her surrender. "Very well," she said, turning to Ahsoka. "I am not one that enjoys turning away people in such a need as you. Come with us, and we will provide what help we can." She nodded to her fighters and half of them turned by the way they came and hurried away. The rest circled around the group again.

Ahsoka took Obi-wan place by Anakin in order to give his shoulder a rest. She draped Anakin's arm across her shoulders and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Come on, Anakin," she whispered to him. "Just a little further; we're going to get help."

Anakin didn't respond except for a soft groan as Ahsoka pulled him straighter. But she did feel him give her shoulder a light squeeze.

As they travelled, the forest people held their weapons at a non-threatening, but ready stance, making Ahsoka think they were _all_ some form of guard, not just Taliah, though she was clearly in charge. Also, the further they went into the forest, the darker it got, as much from the disappearing sunlight as from the foliage. This made the warriors, already difficult to see in their dark, flowing cloaks, all but invisible in the night.

They walked deeper and deeper into the forest, and Anakin sagged within the arms of his Captain and Padawan. When they were all but dragging him along, Ahsoka spoke up, irritated. "Where are we going?"

"To our village; it's the best place to treat your friend," Taliah responded. "Plus, the Queen will want to meet you."

That was a surprise to Ahsoka. _I thought she was the highest authority here; she sure acts like it. _She said as much to Taliah.

The woman arched an eyebrow at Ahsoka's tone. "No. As I said, I am only the guard of this region. But there will be more time for talking later, when your friend is not in such critical shape. The village is not far now; I apologize for the distance, but I took you the shortest route we have."

"We appreciate it," Obi-wan said quickly. He stepped closer to Ahsoka and whispered under his breath. "Do try to have a bit more respect, Ahsoka. I'm used to having to apologize for your master; I don't want to have to start doing so for you."

Ahsoka tried not to glare.

After a few more minutes of walking, Taliah dismissed the rest of the guards and all but one left them and vanished into the night. The one who remained happened to be the girl who'd spoken to Taliah, and walked by the young woman's side. Ahsoka wondered if she'd made a mistake in assuming she was a warrior and figured she was more likely Taliah's personal servant or handmaiden. She stuck awful close.

With an open hand, Taliah indicated a spot ahead of them and Ahsoka squinted against the dark to see a patch of twisted trees a few steps away. "Just through this way."

Ahsoka exchanged a look with Obi-wan while Cody muttered something to Rex. There were no lights around, no voices, nothing that would indicate a village. But Taliah waved them forward, so Obi-wan stepped through the small opening between the warped trunks, followed closely by Ahsoka and Rex with Anakin, and finally trailed by Cody.

Once through the trees, the group stopped short and gazed around. "What is this place?" Ahsoka asked in astonishment. She turned to look behind her where Taliah and her handmaiden were stepping after them.

"This," Taliah replied, "is our village."

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><p><strong>Sorry about the wait, guys! Hope you like it! Thanks for reading! (Note, I didn't go fishing for reviews. Oh wait...shoot. ;-D)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

The warm glow of a dozen campfires bathed the landscape in front of Ahsoka and she gazed at it in wonder. The life that bloomed in front of her didn't match the bleak, empty forest that had seemed to occupy this spot only a moment ago. To say that the forest had come alive would be an understatement. This was almost a different world.

Though nighttime still blanketed the forest, the village seemed to have transformed it. It was like everything beautiful about the night had all come together into one place. Crickets hummed a lovely tune; the full moon glowed a gentle silver, casting everything in a mysterious radiance, yet combining with the firelight to give the whole place a comforting feel; stars twinkled. Ahsoka had never really seen stars twinkle. You couldn't get a good look at them on Coruscant with all its city lights, other planets came with bigger concerns, and it was a completely different experience seeing them in space. This was the only place she'd ever been to where she truly saw stars twinkle, and there was really no other way to describe it. They winked at her.

A couple hundred steps in front of them sat moderately sized clearing, looking like it probably served as a village square of some kind. It was strewn with bonfires of various sizes, all surrounded by differing numbers of people, most of whom had turned to stare when the group entered.

"Come," Taliah said, waving them on. Trailed by her handmaiden, she cut through the center of the clearing, weaving around the blazing fires. As they neared the other side, Ahsoka spotted a fire that was noticeably larger than the others, which she assumed the young woman was taking them to.

Still towing her master with Rex's assistance, Ahsoka examined the square's darker surroundings. Small cottages scattered amongst the trees, some of which were actually built around trees themselves. A few people wandered from them, no doubt to see the new visitors that had been brought to their home. Ahsoka observed that not all of the people were human. Twi'leks, Mirialans, even a couple Carondians, to her surprise; it was true that the majority of them were humans, but there were many other different species represented here as well.

Reaching the fire, Ahsoka and Rex lowered the semi-conscious Anakin onto a flattened log that sat beside it. Next to the soothing heat, Ahsoka realized how cold she had been before and rubbed her arms, trying to chase away the goosebumps.

A few people began crowding in closer. Taliah shooed most of them off with a wave of her hand, then turned away a moment to speak a few words of her strange language to a middle aged woman who rushed up.

Obi-wan knelt down next to Anakin and began to strip his upper body. Ahsoka leaned over to help, gently guiding his arms out of his robes. Luckily, Anakin seemed to understand what they were doing after a few moments and tried to work with them as best he could.

By the time they got down to his undershirt, Ahsoka was panicking at how much blood plastered the stained fabric to Anakin's back. She could sense that even Obi-wan, whose calm demeanor had always comforted her, was alarmed by the sight. And that by itself would have been enough to unsettle her.

Rex pulled a small medical kit out of his belt and began removing its contents, but from what Ahsoka could see, none of it was purposed for such a deep wound.

Taliah's voice startled Ahsoka as it sounded from over her shoulder. "We don't keep any of the medical supplies you are accustomed to, but we do have a healer that can help."

Ahsoka turned to look at the woman and saw she had removed her hood. Light from the fire cast an orange glow across a striking human face, set with dark brown eyes and framed with equally dark hair. Her eyes reflected the flames and seem to burn with a blaze of their own. Taliah's entire being rippled with the same intensity.

Obi-wan nodded at the young woman with a grateful, but anxious smile. "Please, do send for them, then."

"She's here," Taliah responded, glancing to her left.

To Ahsoka's surprise, the young woman whom she'd assumed to be Taliah's handmaiden stepped forward. To her further surprise, as the woman slid back her hood, she revealed herself to be much, much younger than Ahsoka expected. She looked no older than sixteen, maybe seventeen, at the most.

"This is Kariss," Taliah said, as the other women –err, girl – walked towards Anakin. "She is our most gifted healer; she can help your friend."

Ahsoka inched over to give Karris room to work. As the girl knelt behind Anakin, her hands hovered just over his wound and she gazed at it intently. She looked up and said something to Taliah, speaking quickly in their native tongue. Then she looked back at Anakin and spoke again, apparently still to Taliah, before shifting down to his injured leg.

A nearby young woman fidgeted as Taliah looked at her and nodded. "Go." The lady hurried off.

Kariss gently felt along the bones of Anakin's leg and glanced at his face in sympathetic pensiveness as he groaned in pain. Her lips twitched to the side thoughtfully as she began rolling up the fabric of his pants' leg. When she got above his knee, Ahsoka could see the joint twisted at an awkward angle, the skin broken in several places. Shivers rolled up her spine when she saw an ugly bulge and she looked away when she realized it was the bone.

The healer placed a light hand over Anakin's knee and touched the other to his left temple. Leaning towards his face, she closed her eyes and whispered something Ahsoka couldn't hear and doubted she would understand even if she did. Then Kariss pulled back and braced both hands in careful places on Anakin's leg, eyes still closed in concentration.

Ahsoka jumped as Anakin's force presence suddenly flared wildly and she looked down at her master. His brow was creased and his eyelids were fluttering, but otherwise, he hadn't moved.

The initial power of the jolt shocked and overwhelmed her as it spilled over into their bond and Ahsoka instinctively squinted her eyes, like she would if she was looking into a blinding light. But beneath it, Ahsoka could sense a slight underlying feeling of discomfort in Anakin and, oddly enough, annoyance. She knew Obi-wan would be sensing the same thing and looked up at the Jedi master.

Obi-wan met her eyes with the same perplexed expression that she felt on her own face. She didn't see any concern etched in his countenance though, and that comforted her.

Anakin jerked suddenly and a strange pop sounded, drawing Ahsoka's attention back to his leg where the healer was just pulling away. Ahsoka blinked at her master's injury.

The bulge was gone from his knee, indicating that the bone had been pushed back into place, and the joined had been straightened out so it looked as good as new. Kariss had not applied a bandage of any kind; there was no need for it. His skin still looked dirty and scraped in places, but the internal damaged was repaired. Ahsoka had never seen or even heard of any like it outside of a master in the art of Jedi Healing. And even then, for it to happen so instantaneously and without extended meditation, she was amazed.

Ahsoka and Obi-wan helped Anakin sit up straighter so Kariss could get to the gash on his back. Anakin roused somewhat at the movement, but leaned heavily against Obi-wan for support. Kariss reached for the bloody rag that was Anakin's undershirt, but hesitated. She looked up at Taliah.

The young woman stepped forward before Karris even spoke. "There is a problem," she said. "Karris cannot touch your friend's blood without his permission. She must have it in order to heal his back completely."

"She has it," Obi-wan said immediately. "You have my word that Anakin would harbor nothing but gratitude to you both for helping him."

Taliah shook her head. "I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. You are not of our forest and as such, to touch your blood is forbidden. It goes beyond tradition; the repercussions would be farther than you think."

"Please," Ahsoka pleaded, standing. "There must be-" Taliah cut her off.

"I'm not saying there is nothing we can do; only that he can't be healed completely. Although they aren't used much, we have some basic medical supplies." At that moment, one of the women that had run off earlier stepped forward to hand Ahsoka a few clean, damp cloths and a simple sewing kit. "To clean the blood and close the gash," Taliah explained. "You will have to do it yourself, but it will help with the bleeding."

Ahsoka thanked the woman and turned to stand behind her master. Cody removed his gloves to help her and together, they worked Anakin shirt loose and cleaned the blood away from the wound. But Ahsoka wasn't sure how to stich up a wound. She tried to hand it off to one of the others, but each one agreed it was better for her to.

"Focus your mind, Ahsoka," Obi-wan instructed, wrapping an arm around Anakin's shoulders to hold him steady. "Use the Force to guide you. Don't overcomplicate it."

Closing her eyes, Ahsoka tentatively reached out with the Force and used it to hold the wound closed. Then she started sewing. She'd never sewed much herself, but she had seen it done before and attempted to mimic the strokes. After a few awkward stiches, she got into somewhat of a rhythm and moved quickly, trying to keep the grimace off her face. It didn't help that Anakin had stiffened at the first needle prick, reminding her that he was probably feeling all of this.

When she was done, she tied a crude knot and snapped off the remaining thread. The stiches weren't as straight as Ahsoka imagined they probably should be, but she figured they would suffice. She dabbed at the sutures with a clean edge of one of the cloths, wiping away the lingering blood, and breathed a heavy sigh as the angry, swollen line of flesh stared at her.

Kariss suddenly appeared at Ahsoka's shoulder with her hand hovering just above it and, though the shadows made it hard to see the expression in her eyes, Ahsoka felt sure that she was trying to comfort her. The girl then moved to position her hands over the slash, hiding it from view but not quite touching it.

This time the jump in Anakin's Force signature wasn't as extreme. Rather, it gave off a change that was more flickering, almost like it was being irritated, and Ahsoka had the ridiculous vision of someone tickling him.

When Kariss drew back, the injury looked ten times better. All of the inflammation was gone and the skin itself had been sealed together, though the damage was deeper than just a surface wound. The stiches were only barely needed.

With most of the pain subsiding, Anakin slowly began to relax some, sagging further against Obi-wan. This was one of those few moments that Ahsoka saw hints of the Master and Padawan bond that Master Kenobi and her master had shared and must still be sharing now, to some extent. Most times when the two interacted, it was hard to notice because they were almost never thinking on the same line. But at other times, it was impossible to miss. Like now, how Obi-wan was gripping Anakin, calming him further with low words that Ahsoka couldn't catch. Her master's clenched jaw loosened and sleep was clearly beginning to take over.

"Now he should rest," Kariss whispered to Ahsoka. Her use of Basic surprised Ahsoka, but the girl stood up and walked away before she could respond. She went and stood by Taliah, who was finishing a quiet conversation with a man wearing a long cloak.

Acknowledging the young healer, Taliah walked to the fire and pulled away a branch that was lit at one end, forming a torch. "There is a house nearby that you may stay in, at least for the night." She handed the torch to the man that stood just behind her. "This is Galen; he will escort you there." Ahsoka blinked as she recognized him as the one who'd helped them in the clearing, but Taliah continued without hesitating. "In the morning, we will discuss further plans for you. But for now, sleep. I will send someone for you in the morning." Then she turned away, following Kariss who had roamed off out of view.

"This way," the man – Galen – bid them.

With Rex and Cody carrying the unconscious Anakin, the group followed Galen out of the fire-dotted clearing.

Ahsoka fell into step beside Obi-wan with the intention of starting a discussion with him, but no words came. Instead, she lost herself in the sounds of the woods. And just as the light from the bonfires faded from sight, Ahsoka swore she could just hear the faint sounds of singing voices drift through the trees.

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><p><strong>Was it really March when I last updated? I am so sorry... I swore I wouldn't be one of those authors, but here I am, being just that. <strong>

**But thank you to everyone who refused to let me forget about this story! Especially those who sent me message after message about it... lol I got every single one and believe it or not, they really did motivate me. So well done! ;-) A special shout out to ZeDancingHobbit, TalonWolf Jedi, and all of you who didn't give up on it! This one was for you! **

**And don't forget to review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

As Anakin opened his eyes, he fought to shake off the stupor that the previous night had slumped on him. His dreams had been a blurry mess, occasionally broken up by pain and the weirdest numbing sensation, making it hard to piece together the actual memories.

The last coherent memory he had was Obi-wan whispering to him that he could sleep now if he wanted. That was after the pain was less intense, though, so he was easily confused at that time. In fact, he must've been confused during it, because he remembered feeling like a Padawan in that moment; just aware he was safe in his Master's arms.

He looked back now with slight indignation at how little he'd minded the embrace at the time. Then he pushed the feeling aside. He'd earned a moment of childishness after all that!

Anakin stretched out slightly to test his injuries and found only a few sore muscles and a twinge in his back. The words "broken leg" and "blood" rattled around in his head, as well as a sickening amount of worry from Obi-wan and Ahsoka.

He'd been healed; that much was obvious. But even as more memories slowly settled into place, he wasn't sure quite how what he thought had happened was possible.

Pain shot through his back and a roll of nausea swamped him as Anakin sat up to examine his surroundings, and he only had time to take note of a small, tan colored room before he lay back down. He was dressed in his old, bloodied leggings and a light undershirt that wasn't his. The bed he lay in was placed in one corner of the room, also lightly color, and incredibly soft. Though, that latter bit was probably influenced by the military issued mattresses he had been sleeping on for the past few weeks. He buried his face in a pillow, waiting for the queasiness to pass, and groaned. "Snips? Sniiips?"

Light footsteps echoed into the room a moment or two before their owner entered.

"Master! I'm glad you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Anakin sat up again, this time more slowly, and rolled his neck before answering his Padawan. "Fine, I guess."

Ahsoka walked over to the bed, presumably to help Anakin stand, but he didn't need help, and got to his feet on his own. She touched his shoulder when he wavered for a moment, but pulled away when he steadied himself. "You definitely look better. That girl's a miracle worker," she said.

She brought over a pile of clothes from across the room that consisted mostly of his things, except for a dark gray tunic that he didn't recognize. He looked at her questioningly before taking them.

"Girl... the healer?" he checked, as he pulled on the tunic. The cloth was soft, softer than it looked. He pulled it smooth; it fit perfectly.

Ahsoka leaned up against a large, simply crafted wooden chest that stood beside the door, and nodded. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Vaguely," Anakin responded. He glanced around the room now, and saw that it was actually a light cream color. What he thought had been the walls were really enormous tan window shades made from some kind of plant reed. If every shade covered a window as he assumed, two of the walls were practically made of glass. Sun shined brightly around the edges of the reeds and Anakin wondered how long he had slept. "What time is it?"

"Late morning." Ahsoka walked to the windows and touched a small square box next to the windows.

Something clicked and every other reed that made up the window shades retracted upwards, filtering some sun into the room without blinding them. Clever.

"Come on," his Padawan urged, going back across the room and standing in the doorway. "The others are in the living room. I was coming to get you up."

Anakin quickly finished dressing and followed Ahsoka out into the hall.

The rest of the house was decorated in the same manner as his room was: simple and light colored. Windows were everywhere, covered by thin screens rather than glass, allowing the breeze to blow lightly through the house.

They came into a moderately-sized room at the end of the hall. Short benches were set into the walls at random places, and in the center of the room was a table made from a cross-section of an enormous tree trunk. Obi-wan, Rex, and Cody sat on various sized pillows and cushions –some as big as a couch – that were strewn about the entire room, and they turned to look at him and Ahsoka as they walked in.

"Anakin, it's good to see you up and about," Obi-wan stated as Anakin collapsed onto an oversized round cushion. "If only for a short time."

"Yeah, well, I decided to stick around just for your wit," Anakin retorted. He leaned forward and ran his hand over the glossy table's surface. The trunk seemed to have been coated with some sort of wax or sealant and polished until it shone.

"How are you feeling?" his old master asked.

Anakin rolled his shoulders and felt the same painful pulling sensation he'd felt earlier. He tried to reach his hand around to touch the spot, but the farther he stretched, the more it hurt. "My back is aching in one place, but I feel fine." He glanced pointedly around the room. "Where are we?"

Ahsoka sat cross legged on a cushion a few feet away. "In a village on Arbra; we crashed here. Remember?"

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. I remember there not being any inhabitants on Arbra, too."

"We were obviously misinformed," Obi-wan stated.

"Obviously."

"But still." The Jedi Master ignored Anakin. "This is quite a curious place."

Anakin stretched out his leg, the one that had been injured the previous day. "With 'curious' healing techniques, too."

Obi-wan nodded, agreeing. "I wasn't sure how much you remembered, or how to bring it up, but yes. It was quite extraordinary."

"I'll second that," Cody spoke up. "Never seen anything like that, even amongst you Jedi."

"There's nothing like it among us," Obi-wan said. "At least, nothing of that level."

Ahsoka readjusted her position to lean forward and nodded. "Master Kenobi and I were talking about that last night. Barriss has told me a lot of things about being a healer, even given me some tips. But she's never said anything about that kind of healing. Even by a Master. And I feel like that's something she would have mentioned."

"For healing of the magnitude Anakin required, a Jedi Healer would have to put the patient into a trance, to even begin. But from what I could see..." he looked at Anakin. "The Arbraian healer did not."

"No." Anakin considered how the whole experience had felt. It'd been uncomfortable, but not painful. Intrusive, but in a gentle way. "I was... aware of her presence, but not in a way I'm accustomed to. She wasn't using a Jedi technique; I'm not even sure she was using the Force at all."

There was a short pause where the Jedi thought quietly, while Rex and Cody exchanged a confused look.

"Well, perhaps, we'll get a chance to ask her when she comes," Obi-wan responded, leaning back in his seat.

"She's coming here?"

Obi-wan nodded.

"She came earlier this morning, but you were still asleep," Ahsoka told him. "She said she'd return later when you had woken."

Anakin didn't quite understand, but Rex clarified.

"She's taking us to see the Queen."

_Oh._

There wasn't much more to say after that. Anakin tried to question the others further, but it was clear that they didn't know much more than he did. All they could do was wait for this healer to come.

They only had to wait a short while longer.

About twenty minutes later, there was a knock coming from the door across the room. They all stood, and Cody went to open the door."

"Hello."

Anakin blinked at the girl that stood in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not disturbing."

She was younger than he'd expected, roughly his Padawan's age, only human. Interestingly enough, she had hair about the same hue as Ahsoka's skin, which stood in stark contrast to the girl's own lightly colored skin. Pretty.

"Not at all," Obi-wan said, stepping towards her. "We've been expecting you."

The girl stepped just through the open door. "I'm sorry if I kept you waiting," she said, a musical note to her voice. "But I wanted to give your friend enough time to sleep and recover." She looked to Anakin. "You look much better, Master Skywalker, but how do you feel?"

Anakin cleared his throat. "As you say, much better. Thank you for everything you've done..." He paused significantly, but the child either didn't catch the insinuation or ignored it. "I'm sorry. I can't seem to remember your name."

"Kariss," she said with a gentle smile. "And I would hardly expect you to; you probably remember very little from last night."

He smiled ruefully. "More or less. Were we introduced?"

"Informally." Then she angled herself away to speak to them all. "Are you all ready? The Queen is anxious to speak to you."

A quick glance around must've been a clear enough affirmative for the girl – Kariss – to turn and head out the door. Anakin and the others fell into step behind her.

"How is your back doing?" Kariss asked Anakin as they walked.

Anakin recalled the bit of pain. "A bit sore."

She nodded. "To be expected. The stitches should be able to come out in a few days."

_Stiches?_

"They are courtesy of your Padawan," Obi-wan said. He must've sensed Anakin's confusion.

"Really?" Anakin commented, turning to Ahsoka with a grin. "One of those tips Barriss has given you?"

Ahsoka smirked. "Someone's gotta keep you together, Master." She seemed to rethink her statement. "Although, I would appreciate _not _having to do that again."

"Can't argue with that," Anakin said. "Thanks though. And thank you as well, Kariss."

The girl smiled. "You are welcome, Mater Jedi. It is my duty as the healer here. And it happens to be one I enjoy."

Anakin didn't have a response then, and they all lapsed into silence.

Along the way, Anakin was struck with the beauty of the surrounding forest. Normally, things like that had to be overlooked because of the urgency of the moment, but right now, he could appreciate it. The trees arched high above them, draping huge branches across the sky. Green hung everywhere in various shades; a cool, almost rustic shade colored most of the forest, but it was highlighted and lowlighted with so many other tones, it looked like the life's work of a master artist. Warm sunlight trickled down through the leaves, and lightest breeze blew against their faces.

It even smelled fresh; like rain, although there was hardly more than a few wispy white clouds in sight.

Anakin tore his gaze from the scenery to watch the girl in front of him.

Kariss picked her way through the forest easily, as you would expect from someone who undoubtedly grew up in it. She was barely Ahsoka's height, and build as well. She wore a light blue, knee-length tunic, cinched at the waist by a thin belt. The sleeves stopped halfway down her forearms, with dark blue trimming the edge; the same pattern was on the bottom hem and around her collar. The tunic was the same style as the one Anakin wore. Clearly, it'd come from their hosts.

Kariss's reddish hair was half pulled back and twisted in a way that Anakin remembered seeing Padme' frequently wear her hair. She would say it was a simple way to keep her hair under control and out of her face. Apparently, that was a constant among woman. Anakin looked down then and got an interesting surprise.

The girl wore no shoes. Odd, but then, every planet was different. Maybe this was normal for these people; he couldn't remember if the people from last night had worn shoes. He'd heard of cultures that dealt in stranger customs than that. Still... watching her feet made Anakin notice something strange about her walk as well.

Every time Kariss put her foot down, the fallen leaves that blanketed the ground moved. Not unusual, of course, but they didn't move where her foot touched. Rather, they moved around it. It wasn't like they blew away dramatically or anything, more like they just... shifted. Just a bit a movement noticeable enough to make Anakin's head tilt.

In total, Kariss reminded Anakin a bit of the Daughter that he'd encountered on Mortis. Her movements were smooth, and more lively than the Daughter's had been. It was almost like she was about to start dancing rather than walk.

Rex stepped up to Anakin's side. He'd noticed Anakin's preoccupation with the girl, and Anakin could sense that he reciprocated. The two nodded at each other in silent greeting as they walked, and the Captain indicated Kariss.

"Good looking kid," he commented in a soft undertone that promised safety from nearby ears.

Anakin nodded his agreement. "She is. Good looking place. Peaceful. It's like the war doesn't exist here."

Anakin must've spoken those last words loud enough for the others to hear.

"It doesn't," Kariss answered, causing them all to look at her.

"You've managed to stay neutral in this war?" Ahsoka asked.

Kariss gave her shoulders a shrug. "We've stayed... invisible. Up to this point at least." She grinned then, as though she could see the questions burning at their lips. "I promise, the Queen will answer your questions more fully."

Obi-wan, at least, nodded, satisfied. "How much farther is it to your Queen?"

Another grin. "Trust me; you won't miss it."

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><p><strong>Hey guys! Sorry to everyone who's been waiting forever on this, and thanks to everyone who tried to keep on top of me about it! <strong>

**Let me know what you think; until next time! :)**


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